Washington state needs a ‘consistent’ story to compete in AI, leaders agree

Washington state may have what it takes to become a global AI hub. The problem is, it hasn’t figured out how to say that yet, and its political and technical leaders agree that it’s time to work on it.

On Wednesday, the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) convened a meeting of community and industry leaders from across the Seattle region to ask a specific question: What will it really take for Washington state to stop playing Silicon Valley and start leading?

At the center of the debate was the nonprofit’s recent white paper, “Seattle’s AI Advantage: The Path to Global Leadership.”

In it, author and futurist Alex Lightman argues that the Emerald City has six distinct advantages over rival tech hubs: an abundance of clean energy, a backyard full of hyperscalers like Microsoft and Amazon, acceptance of using AI to continuously improve AI and software, access to quantum computing, the ability to use a growing small footprint in the simulation technology space.

He argues that, these assets, are the ones that position Seattle as the US city with the top five economies, when compared to the G7 economy with a GDP of $1 billion.

But while the WTIA white paper largely shows the city has incredible potential, the advocacy group insists it’s only a roadmap. The real challenge is figuring out what happens next. When the talking is done, who will organize the coup attempt?

“I think one of the most important things we can do is start telling this story,” said Randa Minkarah, WTIA’s chief executive officer, referring to Washington’s need to establish itself as a leading, responsible AI and advanced technology region. “How do we find what changes people’s perception?”

Once that narrative takes hold, it can create momentum—a “storytelling flywheel” that spreads best practices and lessons to communities and organizations, Minkarah added.

Washington’s struggle to tell a consistent AI story isn’t caused by one issue, but by a host of issues. Rachel Smith, president of the Washington Roundtable, identified a three-way disconnect between government priorities and dollars, government priorities and dollars, and what’s actually happening in communities.

“If all those things go wrong, it’s like we’re spending a lot of money and not getting much out of it,” he said.

Smith called for a comprehensive strategy focused on economic competitiveness and tax reform. This is the topic of debate after state lawmakers approved a new income tax on high earners this month. Another investor in the audience echoed this point, noting that some of the people writing checks in Washington’s tech ecosystem have moved their residences.

There is also a failure to make the benefits of AI accessible to everyday Washingtonians, as indigenous communities and local residents feel excluded. And compounding the issue is a lack of strategic planning, as Washington has scaled back its economic development strategy. That’s not what community leaders want—they want Olympia to lead.

“That’s a place where a government with guidance on the AI ​​industry, where we want to go, would be very helpful,” Canedo noted. Beau Perschbacher, Governor Bob Ferguson’s Senior Policy Advisor for Economic Development, disagreed.

So what exactly needs to happen?

The panelists didn’t hold back when asked what Washington leaders should do in the next 24 months: Joe Nguyen, former Washington State senator and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, is looking for risk takers—businesses willing to be the first movers in adopting AI in their industries and evangelizing the possibilities.

Jesse Canedo, chief economic development officer for the City of Bellevue, hopes drivers can do that with the white paper’s vision.

“Seattle as a region makes a lot of great ideas,” he said. “It requires a lot of use of big, bold ideas…Housing, people, and energy are the three biggest things we can use right away in this idea.”

Not everyone agreed on the way forward.

Alvin Graylin, a fellow at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, said Washington should position itself as a global hub for open AI rather than following Silicon Valley’s closed, capital-intensive model.

He pointed to Chinese labs producing roughly equivalent models at a fraction of the cost, saying Washington could tap into the millions of open-source developers around the world rather than competing with a few thousand elite researchers in large labs.

Lightman, the author of the white paper, was skeptical. He noted that Microsoft made the Netscape browser obsolete by offering its own browser, then made billions selling everything around it. Open source has a ceiling, he argued, and it won’t take Seattle to a multibillion-dollar economy.

Separately, Perschbacher wants more state-to-state funding, and improved public relations to bring in more people as partners.

Can these leaders take all their ideas and turn them into action? At least, the WTIA received two promises: The Washington Roundtable and the Seattle Metro Chamber both said they would work with the Governor’s office to develop a statewide economic development strategy, and Perschbacher committed to leading a government finance task force.

Also joining the conversation was Alicia Teel, deputy director of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development. In addition to Minkarah, WTIA representatives were Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Nick Ellingson, Advanced Technologies Cluster Chair Arry Yu, and Director of Industry and Public Relations Terrance Stevenson.